


Something New

by periwinklepromise



Series: MCU Kink Bingo [19]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, First Meetings, Flirting, M/M, THEY'RE BOTH SUCH DORKS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 06:03:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18114791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/periwinklepromise/pseuds/periwinklepromise
Summary: "Anyone sitting here?""...Go ahead."For MCU Kink Bingo square G2: Tony Stark/James Rhodes





	Something New

“Anyone sitting here?”

Tony looked up – tall, lanky guy with a good smile, albeit a bit nervous. When he'd first started, all the kids had fought over who got to sit next to him, sure that sitting by _The_ Tony Stark would guarantee them good grades and long-lasting connections. Then they'd fought to get away, since he always took up most of the desk with his work, and he tended to mutter under his breath while he worked, and both of those things drove people crazy. He just needed space to think!

Tall guy was still standing there, looking more nervous.

“Go ahead,” he replied. 

Tall guy beamed and sat down. “Thanks.” 

Tony didn't know what to say to that, so he elected to say nothing.

...Which didn't last for long, when they were set loose to work on the practice problems, and Tony immediately began babbling as he solved the problems quickly and then used the methods in various problems that he made up for himself for the extra practice – he'd learned a long time ago that people hated it even more when he got bored in class because he finished too soon. 

“That's wrong,” a quiet voice cut in. 

“What?” he mumbled, not really listening. 

A slim finger moved to his latest line of work and tapped on a number. “You added instead of multiplied,” the boy who sat next to him pointed out. 

Tony checked. Sure enough, the boy was right. Tony scratched out the five and put a six instead. “Thanks,” he offered up, only a little begrudgingly. “I think faster than I write,” he admitted.

“I can see that.” For a second, there was only the sound of scratching. “That's not one of the assigned problems, is it?”

“Oh, nah, I just gotta keep busy, don't wanna slow down.”

“It's okay to, ya know.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. Yeah, right. 

“No, I'm serious,” tall guy insisted. “Listen, you got a class after this?”

“No,” he admitted reluctantly. He tended to sneak into the chem labs and help the phys chem prof with his work for the next couple hours until his lab the next room over.

Tall guy smiled, a little crooked, and Tony's heart definitely did not jump. “You wanna get a coffee?”

Tony blinked a lot. And then blurted, “Sure.” And then, far more hesitantly, “You know I'm only fourteen, right?” People who wanted to use him often pretended they didn't know how old he was, so reminding strangers became an annoying habit. 

“Congratulations,” tall guy said blankly, not the least bit impressed. “I'm seventeen.”

Well, that was new. “Oh! Cool.” 

The professor rattled off mostly useless info and passed the class over to the TA for more useless info. When they were released, Tony scrambled to pack up his papers, tall guy already squared away and pristine. 

“I'm Tony, by the way. What's your name?”

Tall guy smirked and popped his collar. “Rhodes. James Rhodes.”

… 

“Oh my god, shut _up_ , does anybody fall for that?”

“Hey, it's cool!”

Tony snorted. Yeah, sure it was. “Okay, Bond boy, show me the coffee.”


End file.
